Two Different Worlds
by samy-chan
Summary: When her little brother becomes fatally ill and her family is threatened to lose everything they own,Garnet knows the only thing she can do is find a job in the big city to pay off her family's debt.During this ordeal,a job isn't the only thing she finds.
1. Chapter 1 A Determination

A/N: Okies Pokies... :takes deep breath: Hi all those out there who are reading this! Well, it didn't take me too long to find a writing buddy. Luckily I had a great friend who was interested. She gave me the idea, I changed it around a bit and then...well, this is what we came up with. I believe that this new story will definitely be the **bomb diggity!** (And even though I've said that for almost all my stories u.u; ) This one really will be everything that I've always wanted my stories to be. Many thankies to my big sissy Yukina. Thankies! I hope you all enjoy! I know I sure did.

Disclaimer: Neither Yukina or Moi own any of the ff9 characters. But, sometimes we do... :devilish smile:

Claimer: This is gonna be so awesome! >>

Author(s)-Jenn Yukina and Samy-chan! ---me

Fiction Rated-T (or...something like that)

-Two Different Worlds-

A young, beautiful girl, who appeared to be by the age of 21, pulled her hair into a tight bun to prevent it from getting into her eyes. She opened the screen door that led her out the room, and out the house. Issuing a warm welcome from the early morning sun, she said, "Good morning.." and walked over to the barnyard. This was where the cows, chickens, goats, and sheep rested. It wasn't intentional to have all these different types of animals crammed together like this. Since her family had such a tight budget, there really was no other way.

Sighing, she let out a soft gasp as she felt something rub against her leg, letting out a purr. She smiled as her eyes dropped down to her pet cat, Alex. "Hello.." she said softly bending down to lightly pick up the orange feline; with the orange meeting white at the end of it's paws and feet.

"How are you?" Garnet smiled petting the cat; issuing a soft purr from it.

"S-sis..." a weak voice coughed from inside.

Garnet quickly turned around, seeing a young boy with rough-looking black hair, and yellow eyes looking at her weakly. One of his hands were covering his mouth and his face was a bit red.

"Vivi! What are you doing out of bed?" Garnet whispered, lowering herself down to him, so that she was his height. She pulled a bandana out her pocket, and softly wiped his face with it.

This boy, Vivi, was her adopted brother. A long time ago, the boy lived on a dirty ground where people such as burglars and thieves picked on him, and beat him up. Somehow the little toddler found himself crawling on Garnet's territory one night, and that's where her mother found him, in such a horrible state.

"I just..wanted t-to get a little fresh air." He coughed again.

Garnet shook her head, eyes showing a bit of worry, mixed with disappointment. "No... you know what the doctor said, sweetie.. You have to go back to bed so you can feel better."

Vivi frowned. "Whatever he says, it's not true sis... I'll never get better if I stay in bed. I'll just get weaker and weaker, then I'll d--" before he could finish his sentence, Garnet quickly slapped a hand to his mouth and kept it there.

"Don't you dare say that, alright? There IS a cure to save you..." Garnet hissed, then grabbing him in her arms to hold him close, she sat down in a rocking chair that was on the porch.

She heard her brother coughed a little. Coming down into tears she cracked a soft smile on her face, then began to rock softly back and forth. "One soundless mid-day, the wind was so cheerful.." she sang softly as she picked him up in her arms, walking back into their small residence.

"Flower petals sway in the breeze, as if they were sleepy. This serene feeling.. Tell me, what's the word people use for it?" By now, she could hear Vivi calm down as his quantity of hiccups decreased. "Tell me a story that's locked away in the white-sand moon. Let me hear it as gently as light shining down..." Her last words turned into whispers as she rested the boy who fell into a calm and peaceful slumber.

"Good morning Garnet..." greeted a voice as soon as Garnet left Vivi's room.

"Hello, mom. Are you well?" Garnet smiled pleasantly to a woman who resembled her a bit, but a tad older. The old female was a bit of a bed head by the moment. Her brown hair was in all directions, and she was wearing a rugged robe with a few coffee stains on it. Garnet really didn't ming her mother's appearance because her mother looked more attractive when she was dressed and on the other hand, it was her mother after all.

"I'm fine.. I just have a bit of a cold. Did you check up on Vivi? I thought I heard you singing to him again" Her mother asked as she headed towards the kitchen, intent on making herself some coffee.

"No… he came wandering outside, coughing and sniffing. Apparently, his temperature is getting worse.." Garnet sighed, looking down as if she had given up hope already.

"Listen, you.." her mother said firmly, "Don't put your head down like that. The world isn't in ashes yet. We'll find a way to cure your little brother, got it? It isn't over when you lose, it is over when you quit." Murmured her voice at the end.

Garnet smiled and refused to start crying. "Yes, mom... You're right. I'm not a quitter."

"Also, I've found a solution in New York's newspaper when Little Tom the paperboy paid us a visit!"

Garnet smiled. "Really? What is going on in the city?"

"Well, they are having a job opening." Her mother started slowly picking up her steaming mug with a saucer. She took a little sip and continued. "It is a fast-food restaurant. Teens your age work there."

Garnet's eyes widened. "Mom, you're not implying that I---?"

"Work as a server in the business of McDonalds," her mother finished with a proud smile. "I know that you can do it, sweetheart. This will be an easier way of paying all the medical bills for your brother."

"Also, the fund that you people owe to the company," said a dark voice, which startled the two ladies. They turned their heads, seeing a tall man in a dark suit with a burgundy briefcase in his left hand and, his right hand in his pocket. He wore thick sunglasses that hid his eyes completely, and his hair was combed back with grease added to it. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Alexandros, Lady Alexandros," the deep voice greeted to Garnet's mother and herself, as he let himself in the house.

"Correction: It's morning time, Albert.." Garnet's mother (We'll just call her Linda) retorted.

"Affirmative, but in Greenland, where our headquarters resides, is currently living in the afternoon."

"Haven't you realized that you're in _New York_ and not _Greenland_?" Garnet retorted with a sigh.

"... Dropping off the subject, Mrs. Alexandros, your bill is due. I'm afraid that I will be forced to kick you out this house unless you can come up with the money you owe and--"

"Wait a damn minute, I was **born** in this house!" Linda screamed, dramatically dropping the mug as pieces were now scattered on the floor, also spilling her coffee.

"I appreciate that, Mrs. Alexandros, but I'm just doing my job," said the man as he fixed his collar.

"We just found a solution to pay for my brother's illness, and now you decide to bombard us with our humongous bill?" Garnet hissed, though tried to keep her voice down so she wouldn't disturb Vivi's slumber.

"Well, add this to your To-Do list.." the man said before leaving, and driving off in his Honda vehicle.

Garnet sighed as she carelessly plopped into a seat that was next to the table in the dining room. What was they going to do? What was she going to do..?

"Don't give up, sweetheart. God will help us... I know He will..." Linda sighed and began picking up the broken pieces off the floor.

A/N: So...what do you think...? I loved it! I hope you all enjoyed it as well. This was pretty much (actually it was all...) of my friend Jen Yukina's work. She wrote this whole chapter and I simply re-worded some small things. (But I do write a lot of the next chapter! ) Now, if you like my writing you'll definitely like Jen Yukina's work. It's just like mine only better! lol. She's simply a older version of me. So be sure to read her stories or I won't talk to you ever again! humph! (Then again, that seems a bit harsh eh? -.-;;)


	2. Chapter 2 A New Start

A/N: Oh man, the other day I had a really scary dream. It was like I was in a scary movie. There was a killer, and the killer kept calling this drunk teenager guy who was at the time, driving in his car. But the guy kept hanging up on him. Then the killer finally got ticked off and said, "If you hang up on me one more time I'm going to kill you." But the dude was drunk and stupid, so he hung up on him again. Then the killer called back and started saying all these random words like: Cold, sharp, blade, hard, dark etc. The teenager was confused and then he drove over a bench and into a frozen river, ya know him being drunk and all. The car sunk into the river but the teenager swam to the surface and managed to swim all the way to land. He rolled over on land, panting hard and wiping the water from his face. When he rolled over on the ground, the killer grabbed him; took a rusty blade and slit his throat and then dumped his body back into the frozen river ( How could he do that if it was frozen? XP) But the killer was saying all those random words showing how he would kill the teenager. **Cold**-the season was winter in my dream, **Sharp **and **Blade**-the blade he used to cut his throat and **Dark**-it was night time. The killer was describing the setting and stuff that he would kill the teenager in my dream. Now isn't that freakin' freaky? 0.0;

It's kinda weird though. I mean, usually the killer calls and keeps hanging up, and the victim is the one to yell at him saying stuff like, "why do you keep calling and hanging up? You cock sucker!" But the killer wanted to talk and the victim was the one who kept hanging up on him! Now isn't that a spin?

Lol. Okies, I got way too carried away in that little dream of mine. Just thought I'd share the scariness with you all :)

Well, pleasant and non-scary dreams to you all! Enjoy da story :3

Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be nice if me and/or Yukina owned ff9 and ALL of the characters in it? Yea, it would. It would also be nice if we were all older. Then we wouldn't have to wait so long. And wouldn't it be nice to live together? In the kind of world where we belong?XD I love ya Beach Boys

♣ **A New Start **♣

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"All passengers aboard!" A man in a blue suit shouted. Garnet looked around to see if her train had come yet. She couldn't tell which one was hers! All of the trains looked almost exactly the same. Then she remembered that her train number was 110.

"All aboard!" The man shouted again.

Garnet paced up to the man, "Excuse me, is this the train that takes you to the city?" She asked as she pulled her bag up her shoulder to achieve balance.

"Yes ma'am! This is train 110." He stood and spoke just like a robot.

Garnet smiled pleasantly,"Ok then. Thank you." She took a step onto the train but looked back to get one last glance at her homeland. She wouldn't be away from home that long. Maybe for a couple of weeks at the most. The city jobs are suppose to pay a lot of money, right?

"You're welcome ma'am!" He replied and shouted other things at people, before he stepped back onto the train.

Garnet scanned for an empty seat. The only one available was one which a strange looking girl was sitting in. She had short purple hair and a mysterious horn sticking out of her head. Garnet quietly took a seat next to her.

"Hi what's your name?" The little girl asked, as soon as Garnet sat down.

"My name is Garnet Alexandros," she said setting her bag onto her lap, "What's yours?"

The girl grinned, "Eiko Carol's the name!"

Garnet offered her, her hand. "Pleasure to meet you." She smiled. Eiko nodded and shook her hand.

"So whatcha goin' to the city for?" Garnet thought for a second after Eiko asked that question. It wouldn't hurt to tell the truth. What could a little girl use against her?

"To find a job," she said; her response raising Eiko's eyebrows in curiosity." A job?"

Garnet smiled, "That's right. Why are you going?" Eiko reached in her pocket and popped a gum ball in her mouth and started chewing, "To see my family." Eiko bit down harder on the yellow ball.

"You mean….you live by yourself?" Eiko spit her gum on small wrapper and put it in her pocket.

"Yep! I visit them on the weekends sometimes."

"But… Wouldn't your mother want you to live with her?"

Eiko reached into her pocket again revealing a gummy worm. "Well, yeah." She bit the head of the colorful worm, struggling to break a piece of it off.

"Then why don't you?" Garnet asked as she turned her head to a sign on a window of a building that said "Help Wanted." Maybe they were almost there, she thought to herself.

"Because I ran away." Eiko stated, slurping up the rest of the worm and began chewing it like a maniac.

"What? You ran away and you still visit them?" Eiko nodded at Garnet's question, smiling and managed to swallow the rest of the worm hanging from her mouth.

Garnet felt so curious to ask her the reason but, she didn't want to sound like…some kinda…..stranger…which she kind of was already. But, she didn't want to seem more strange.

"May I ask why you ran away?" Garnet asked. She could probably hear the curiosity in her voice by now. She coughed to cover it, but it didn't work.

"I dunno, cuz…I wanted to!" Eiko stated in a proud manner, as if she had achieved her first goal.

"Why?" She asked again, "Didn't you like living with your mother?"

"Errrm, sometimes….but I like living by myself better. Don't you?" She asked turning to Garnet; her eyes widening for some odd reason.

"No, I live with my mother and my younger brother.." This reminded her of home and how bad condition Vivi was. Then a huge knot came together in her throat, she swallowed the knot until she felt that it was completely out of her system.

"Oh…" She replied lowering her eyes to the ground, seeming a bit disappointed.

"Eiko I--" Garnet tried to say, but was interrupted by the train's halt, causing both her and Eiko to crash into the seats in front of them. Garnet caught her bag just before the contents in it spilled all over the floor.

"Heh, guess we're here." Garnet said, wiping some sweat from her forehead. Eiko had all of her candy in her hands, as if she were protecting it.

"Yea, that was a close one.." Eiko muttered, also collecting her stuff.

"Eiko, it was a pleasure to meet you!" Garnet exclaimed with a smile as they exited the train.

Eiko smiled back, "Yea, I really hope we can meet again someday. If I find any jobs who need workers, I'll be sure to tell you!"

"Thank you Eiko. Um, are you sure you're going to be ok on your own?" Garnet's voice sounded a bit worried again.

"Yessum, it's a short walk from here!"

Garnet sighed and reached in her pocket, pulling out change. She took Eiko's hand and placed a couple of gil in it. "Take this and buy some food with it. Too much candy is bad for you."

Eiko's face lit up. "Oh, thank you so much! I'll never forget this!"

Garnet smiled and nodded, "Now you be safe and get home right away, before it gets dark."

"Mmhmm! I will! Bai Bai!" They both waved and Eiko disappeared through the crowd of people.

Garnet really wished that pollution and over population wasn't such a big problem in the city. Then again, many people cause many problems and she was just adding to the population. She sighed. The air was so thick and it was getting darker and colder by the second. She already began to hate it here. It had been 4 hours since she had arrived here and she still had no idea where to go. She set her heavy bag on the ground and pulled out a crumbled paper from her pocket.

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When you get off the bus, there should be a long road ahead of you, that connects to Pillsbury street. From there you go to 100 Parkway Avenue on Melrose street. Your uncle Cid should be waiting for you!

Good Luck!

♥Mommy♥

P.S. Tell Cid I said hello and don't forget to call me as soon as you get in!

---------------------------------------------------

Garnet sighed and put the paper back in her pocket. She wished that her mother had been bit more specific. Her mother should already know how horrible she was at following directions. Dark clouds began to form in the sky, indicating rain would soon fall.

"Aww, oh no!" She picked up her bag and ran underneath a porch. What am I doing? She thought. You can't just go running on people's porch in the middle of the night. Then again...'she rethought. She knocked lightly on the door.

It took a while for someone to answer the door, but Garnet thought that it was better than nothing. "Who is this?" a woman's voice yawned.

"Hi, I am deeply sorry for waking you up at a time like this...but I'm lost." said Garnet sadly.

"Oh! Please come in, a storm is about to come." the lady said, her feminine form shown by the door light above the doorbell. Silver hair was hanging from her shoulders, a few strands coming across her eyes. She had hazel eyes, the kind that would warm a persons heart and would throw away the tension.

Garnet smiled widely and bowed. "Thank you very much! I owe you."

"No need for the formalities.." muttered the woman, allowing Garnet to step in the apartment.

"Frey, who is it?" muttered a man's voice from another room.

"Frey? Your name is Frey?" Garnet asked.

The woman nodded. "My name is Freya, but my boyfriend calls me Frey sometimes."

"Oh."

"It's just someone from outta town, Fratley!" she shouted, her head facing in another direction of the room that her boyfriend probably was in.

"Oh.. What's their name?" he asked, stepping out the room and his eyes locked onto Garnet's. "Hi."

"Pleased to meet you." Garnet smiled.

"Why are you roaming around the streets? It's raining and there's a lot of speeding cars around here." He asked, cocking a brow.

"Oh...well... I just came here from home, and I'm looking for my Uncle Cid." Freya and Fratley stared at each other for a while with wide eyes.

"You don't mean...Cid Fabool?" Freya asked, turning her head quickly to Garnet.

"Yes." Garnet nodded happily.

"That man helped me recover my foot. One day I was out jogging, then I twisted my ankle, and there he was.." Fratley explained.

"Wow.." Garnet said.

"Thanks to Fabool, Fratley was able to continue running the next week."

"Oh! Speaking of which, I must call him. May I use your receiver?" Freya nodded and handed the phone to Garnet, which was lying on the couch.

"Thank you" She said taking the phone and walking into the kitchen with it. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the same crumbled paper; turning it over to see her uncle's number on the back.

Ring Ring

Ring...Ring

Ring...Rin--"Hello?" A friendly voice answered.

"Hello. Uncle Cid? It's Garnet."

"Garnet! That you? I've been waiting all day for you! What's the hold up?"

"Well, I was on my way to your house but, a storm was starting up, and I've been kinda of lost since I got off my train. So, these nice people let me stay with them until the storm cleared up."

"Oh, is that so?" he chuckled, "I'm sorry that you had a hard time. Do you know where you are? I could come get you."

"Uhh yes. Hold for just a moment" Garnet said and put her palm on the speaker part of the phone.

"Excuse me, Freya?" She called into the other room.

"Yes dear?" Freya replied from the other room.

"Um, what street is this? I need to tell him where I am so that he can pick me up."

"1059 south Moogle Drive" She yelled so that she could hear her clearly enough.

"Thanks you!" She shouted back and took her hand off the phone. "I'm on 1059 south Moogle Drive"

"Oh that's great! I know exactly where that is. You must be at Freya and Frately's house then!"

"Y-yes. They are very nice people, they told me all about how you've helped them."

He chuckled. "Well, I just happen to be there when they needed help. But anyways, I'll be there in 5 minutes. You're not far at all."

"Ok, I'll be waiting. Goodbye"

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Garnet grabbed her stuff the minute you heard a honk from outside. Freya showed her the way to the door and opened it for her. Before Garnet left she bowed and said, "Thank you very much for your hospitality. I probably would have been still wondering around the city if not for you"

"Anytime dear. It was a pleasure having you as a guest."

Garnet smiled and nodded, as she walked down the steps and got into the car.

Freya and Frately were both on the steps waving. "Goodbye! Good luck! And...have fun!"

"Thanks again! Goodbye!" She waved back as the car took off.

It was a cool and humid night. The storm didn't last more than 10 minutes. But there were still storm clouds in the sky. Cid drove with the car windows opened wide so Garnet's hair was blowing all over the place.

"So how was your trip?" He asked keeping his eyes on the road.

Garnet flipped her long hair out of her face.

"What?" She yelled trying to speak over the loud wind blowing.

"I said! How was your trip?" He raised his voice a little.

"Oh! It was fine. I made a new friend on the train coming over here!" She yelled back.

"Oh really? That's nice!" He replied turning a small corner, rather fast.

Garnet reached out and grabbed her bag, just before it went flying out the window. She looked back at her uncle and sighed. He chuckled and said sorry.

"Don't worry, we're almost there!"

Finally...

The car came to a halting stop in front of a average looking house. Well built, a nice height and a large brown porch.

"Here, I'll carry your bag for you" He offered taking her stuff.

"Thank you uncle" She smiled and opened her door to get out the car.

Cid continued behind her until a screaming voice came running up behind them.

"Hey Cid!" A young boy yelled running.

Cid put Garnet's bag on the ground and turned his attention to a young teenager with dirty blonde hair. He had crystal blue eyes with a rounded face. And poking out the back of his paints, was a long brown tail.Garnet squinted her eyes a little._ How...unusual. First a girl with a horn, and now a boy with a tail._

"Well hello there Zidane. What can I do for you?"

Garnet couldn't help but stare at the boy. She had never seen anyone like him before. His blue brilliant eyes and his long brown tail. Was she the only one who thought this was abnormal?

"Oh I just came to get our stuff that we left here the other day."

"Of course," Cid said, picking up Garnet's bag again, "it should be in the living room still." He pointed to the door way with his chin.

Zidane nodded and walked up the stairs.

When he walked past Garnet, she thought it would be rude not to say anything.

Zidane ran his fingers through his hair, making his bangs fall on top of his head until, he noticed Garnet standing there.

"G-Good evening" She mumbled feeling invisible

"Evening." He said politely and walked past her into the house.

Garnet just stood there staring at the ground, as if she were trying to find a specific dot to her satisfaction.

She looked up when the boy came back out carrying a bunch of bags, which Garnet supposed was the stuff he came for.

"Oh by the way," Cid spoke up and made his way up the stairs, "this is my niece Garnet. Garnet, this is Zidane, a friend of mine."

"Nice to meet you." Garnet offered her hand but, Zidane didn't take it, he just smiled nervously at her.

"Heh, I would shake your hand, but I'll end up dropping all this stuff, sorry." He said trying not to fall down the stairs.

"Oh, that's ok." Garnet said, feeling intimidated by this boy for some reason.

"It was nice meeting you!" He shouted before he turned the corner and was out of sight.

"You...too" She replied, even though he didn't hear her.

"Well Garnet, I'm sure that mother of yours is waiting by the phone for you to call. I'll put your stuff in the living room, the phone's in the back hallway."

Garnet smiled, "Thanks uncle, but I'm pretty beat. I think I'll just go to bed and I'll call my mother in the morning."

"Ok then, I'll show you to the room you'll be staying in."

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Cid led Garnet into a room which reminded her of her room at her house. It was small, but not too small. Definitely no where near big. There was a window by the bed, a bunch of empty picture frames that hung from the wall, and a lamp that sat next to the comfortable looking bed.

"I'll see you in the morning. Good night." Cid said before he closed the door.

"Good night!" She said getting under the covers and making herself comfortable.

She laid on the bed on her back and put her arms behind her head.

"I wonder what mother and Vivi are doing right now..." She said closing her eyes.

Well, I made it this far, and tomorrow I will start working. A step closer to helping out mother and Vivi. She yawned, then hummed a song over and over until she fell asleep.

A/N: Hmm, Besides the fact that I got 2 wisdom teeth pulled and I've been throwing up everywhere, I'm pretty darn happy to update for those who reviewed and maybe even more people will come along and enjoy the story just as much as you guys are. What I'm trying to say is...thanks so much for those who reviewed. It could just be one review and I'd be crazily energetic. :)

Heh, I'm sorry that this update took over 2 weeks. I really meant to post it sooner but, um me and Yuki were having "technical difficulties" u.u;

So, who do you think wrote most of this chappy? Me...or Yukina..? Tell ya what, if you can guess who wrote most of it, then you get the breath taking prize in the next chappy! And believe me, that's definitely something you wanna win!

Until then, take care and keep smiling!


	3. Chapter 3 A New Job

_A/N: Hello! I hope all is well when who ever is reading this. Oh and remember that whole: "Guess who wrote most of the last chapter and win a prize!" contest thingy? Lol. Well, I got a review that reminded me that I had already mentioned that in the chapter before that. Sooooo, I won't be giving any prizes away today, cuz that would just be too easy, dontcha think? Sorry about that folks! ;;_

_Another thing...I have terrible news! I just found out that my friend Jenn Yukina is going to retire after she's done with all her stories. I tried to talk her out of it but, she has lost her inspiration and she said that she's more of a drawer anyways. So, she's gonna be an artist. And I wanna let her know that I cherished every second writing a story with her! The brilliant...the terrific...and kind hearted Yukina! We'll miss you so much!. So, if you get the chance to, e-mail her or review one of her stories and tell her thanks for writing her stories and thanks for contributing to the website. Thankies:3_

_Disclaimer: Nor me or Yukina have ff9 and/or any of its characters in our possession...at least..not yet_

_♣A New Job♣_

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It was very cold today. Very cold. Garnet wondered how the weather could be so comfortably warm one day, and then so uncomfortably freezing the next. The weather was never this confusing where she lived. Speaking of which, she thought, she really should have planted more crops in the field before she had left home. She could have at least done that to make less work for mother. She sighed feeling bad inside, as she made her way further up the street. Poor mother; Poor Vivi.

The city was really busy. There was always a lot of traffic in the streets and always many people walking around on the sidewalks. There were many stores, and many billboards everywhere with advertisements on them. Last week, when she was on her way to hand in her application, there was this odd child running around. He was playing with a colorful ball, that Garnet even thought was kind of nifty.

He bounced the ball on his head, then bounced it back up with his knee and continued this pattern for a while; until he caught sight of a billboard with a star soccer player doing some famous foot, head, knee, hip, kick twist spin.

The boy did his usual pattern with the ball and almost performed the stunt perfectly until, he tried to add a twist to it and he clumsily fell backwards and the ball rolled over into the street. Having no idea that he would most likely get killed by a speeding car, he ran after his nifty little ball, while a large truck was right behind him.

Garnet looked around for the mother of the child to come running to the rescue but, she saw no one. She threw her bag on the ground and ran as fast as she could. It was so close...she grabbed the boy by his collar and dragged him across the street. She could practically feel the truck right behind her heels.

"A-are...you.. Ok...?" Garnet stuttered, her breathing becoming very hard.

"Nnnn...Mmmmm...Uwaaaaaa!" And he just sat there on the ground crying his little eyes out.

Garnet felt her lips turning into a smile. That's one thing she had done right since she came here. She had a knack for being places at the right time. She had saved a boys life!

Garnet took a mental bow as the crowd applauded. She stopped walking when she found herself in front of the Burger King restaurant. Sighing nervously, she stared at the entrance for a while and spotted a familiar-looking young man as the cashier. Raising a suspicious brow, her memory tried to find the location of where she met this boy.

The only way to reveal his identity, was to march in there and ask him. But it would seem a little awkward.. So I can't just do that.. she thought in her mind, while her conscious hand pulled the entrance door to go inside.

She peaked inside. There was quite a line and it smelled like greasy foods. Then again, this was Burger King. What else would it smell like? When she walked in everyone turned around and stared at her. She suddenly felt very hot. She wanted to leave. Say, "Oh I thought this was the library!" slap her forehead and leave. As she approached the An old lady looked her up and down and said, "You have gorgeous hair! My hair used to be dark and lovely like that when I was your age." The old lady said with her glasses sitting on the peak of her nose. Everyone still had their eyes glued on the girl with the gorgeous brown hair.

"Thank you ma'am." She blushed and walked to a familiar looking cashier.

Zidane had his eyes attached to her in curiosity as well.

"Um, excuse me, but I applied for a job here and..." She felt so nervous for some reason. It was the boy. The boy with the long monkey tail from last night. She didn't know he worked here too.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Yea, Baku's in the back. Just knock on his door and he'll get you started." Zidane felt the need to talk to her. Ask her everything about herself. Where was she from? What were her dreams. How old was she? And was she single?

"Where's my damn burger?" The old lady complained waving her cane around, almost hitting Zidane in the face.

"Just a second ma'am." He said handing the lady her tray with a empty cup on it.

Garnet had already become very hot and she hadn't even started working in the kitchen yet. She took off her jacket and threw it onto her shoulder. The people in the kitchen stared at her, as if she were a thief about to grab something. She tried not to look back, but they were strange looking people. They all looked like different types of monsters. One was brown with fangs and yellow eyes. There were two who looked like gargoyles except they didn't have huge wings. There were two who looked pretty human enough. Just, odd looking humans. She kept walking until she came across a door that had, "Baku's office. Keep out!" She gulped and knocked.

"Who is it!" A voice shouted, causing Garnet to gasp in shock.

"Yes, um I applied to work here and you told me to come in today."

"Oh yea! The kid who sent that application. Just a sec."

She heard a bunch of noises from inside, maybe she should've come another day she thought. "Sir, if it's a problem I can come back some other time, when you're not busy."

Some more noises...and then it became very silent.

"Come in!" He finally said.

Garnet turned the knob and saw a hairy...bunny...? sitting in a chair behind his desk.

"Have a seat...um Ruby...was it?" He fixed his tiny glasses.

"No, it's...Garnet actually." She said sitting down.

"Oh. Now, how did I confuse you with Ruby?" He chuckled, "Alright Garnet, as you may know already, your application was accepted and you will begin your first day of work here. Now, the first you will be starting on cleaning up. Such as, mopping, sweeping, taking out the trash, washing windows etc." He seemed to be looking at everything except her.

Garnet nodded silently.

"Here, I'll give you a tour of the restaurant." He rose and put some papers into a huge sloppy folder.

"Ok thank you sir." She replied.

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"Hey, did you see that new girl who just started workin' today?" Zidane asked taking a bite out of his double whopper.

"Umm, you mean that cute girl with the long brown hair?" Blank said, slurping down the rest of his Coke.

Zidane nodded, then stuffed a couple of fries in his mouth and used a napkin to clean up his mess.

"Yea, what about her? Do you like her?" He replied as if he weren't really interested at all. Zidane always talked about girls, so he was pretty used to it.

"Well, yea I like her. But I met her like...about a week ago."

"Where was this?"

"It was after Cinna's birthday party. Ya remember when I left to go to Cid's place to pick up our stuff?"

Blank nodded while biting down on his special bendy straw.

"Yea, um Cid said that she was...his niece or somethin'. I think she's there visiting. I couldn't really see her face, cuz it was late at night, I think it's her though. Her voice seems familiar..." He went into deep thought while taking another huge bite out of his burger.

"Oh...well, is this like the time when you went up to that girl at the park, and told her that you had a dream about meeting her there? Or when you bumped into that real cute girl with the huge boobs and you said that you had already met her too?" Zidane had a habit of making up stories to get into a girls pants, or he always had a personal reason to talk to a cute girl. Like it was law or something.

"No really, I didn't even say all that crap to her. Cid introduced us."

Blank sighed and gathered his trash, getting up to throw it away.

"I gotta talk to her again..."

"Zidane I'm gonna--"

"It's destiny that we met again! This is no mere coincidence. We were meant to meet each other once again." Zidane squeezed his fists with this determined look on his face.

"Dude hold on, you don't even know if she's the same girl. And you wouldn't want to go make an idiot outta yourself, with another corny story."

"Too late Blank..." He stood from his seat and made sure he had no ketchup on his mouth.

"Oh no, Zidane...can't you just be friends with her?"

"Well yea, we'll eventually be friends first. But I really think she might be the one." He brushed his hair back, blew his nose, adjusted his crotch and popped a mint into his mouth.

"You don't even know her! She could be a total bitch, or a completely different girl from the one you remember. I'm just tryin' to stop you before you make a complete fool outta yourself."

"Hey, how 'bout a lil' confidence in me for once? Maybe she is the one..."

_

* * *

_

_A/N: I'm sorry that it took me so long to update this. School's startin' up again, been really busy and Yukina's completely bailed on me...she can no longer help me write the story. I mean, she doesn't want to help me finish. So, I put this story up for a while until I wanted to deal with it again. But then when all seemed lost, I got a new review. Which really got me happy and my hopes up again. Looks like I'm gonna have to finish this story on my own...I think I can do it...if I have faithful reviewers than I definitely think I can finish this story on my own. Yukina said she would find me another writing partner to continue the story with but...we started it together! And writing it with someone else...they wouldn't have the same ideas as I do...I dunno. Maybe I'm just being picky and mean but, I don't want another writing partner...I wrote all of this chapter except for like, 3 sentences and it wasn't that bad at all was it? It was a bit short, but I'll try to make the next one fairly longer. That's if I get at least 3 reviews. Which I don't think is askin' for 10 pots of gold. At least 3 and I'll get my writing spirits back up again. I really need and could use some supportive reviews at times like this. Thanks to all who have reviewed so far, I hope you decide to stay with me. I loves ya all_


	4. Chapter 4 A New Relationship

AN: Hey all. Thought I'd unbury this story and bring it back to the surface with my other two stories. This will be the first chapter that I'll write completely by myself. I hope I can do a good job helping those story stay alive until it's done. Then again, I'm really bad at ending stories...(remember High School? >> ) I'll try guys. I will and I need you guys to be so mean if it really sucks. Nicely talk to me about how much ya hate my work. That would be somewhat bearable than just a really ugly flame. But I know you all are really sweet and understanding people, so I don't even need to tell you all this. I hope you enjoy what I come up with along the way!

Dissy Claimer: What would happen if I falsely said that I actually do own Ff9? Would Square Soft come knocking on my door that exact second and throw me in jail?

Claimy: I bake some hell of good cookies! I'm serious. You all would die out of pleasure just from my cookies.

Try to understand why the chapters may be slacking a bit. I am alone with this story now.

♣ A New Relationship♣

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Garnet closed her eyes as the hot water poured on her face. Her long dark hair felt and smelled so nice against her back, and it felt so good being in such warmth. The whole bathroom looked like a someone had used a fire extinguisher and sprayed it everywhere. Taking hot long showers always cleared Garnets mind. No matter what the situation. She thought about a lot of things that needed thinking about and needed some clearing. Her new job, her living with her uncle, if she had time to find another part time job to get the money faster. Sometimes she would think about times when she was little. Her father used to take her for ice cream every weekend. If it was too cold for ice cream, he would make some cocoa for the both of them and they would sit in front of the fire. Other times when she was feeling so excited and curious, (like times when she got extra cash for staying an hour or 2 more at her job) she would buy something for her uncle just for his troubles with his job.

She stopped her conversation with her thoughts, because she kept hearing a certain... _ding _in her mind. Was this even in her mind? She doubted she could imagine a sound so loud and real by herself. "Oh! The door bell!" She realized and quickly jumped out the shower and grabbed a robe. Rushing to the door she made sure that it was shut, not revealing any of her cleavage. She unlocked the door revealing...Zidane?

Garnet felt speechless. The boy who had made her feel so nervous, warm and happy at the same time. How she loved being around him at work or just anywhere. But she never imagined it would be while she was taking a shower. She hadn't thought that much into the future...when she realized what she was thinking about in a matter of seconds and in front of him. Her face looked like someone put a blush grenade under her skin.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt-" He said trying not to "look" at her. (A/N: You guys know what I mean :)

"No no, it's fine. I think that I was using too much hot water anyways. If you didn't get me out of there, there would've been no hot water left until next week." She laughed trying to cover up her bright face.

He chuckled too and rubbed his hands together trying to keep warm.

"Oh! I'm sorry, how rude of me. Please come in." She opened the door wider letting him in.

He nodded saying thank you, and stepped in.

While he had looked for a place to sit Garnet tightened her robe. Wouldn't want that to open now she thought.

"So, what can I do for you?" She said still feeling a bit awkward being naked in front of him. Not naked but...yea.

"Well um, I thought that maybe we could take a walk in the park, get a cup of coffee or something. It is a nice autumn day." He loosened his scarf from around his neck, feeling a bit heated now.

"Wow, I'd...love to." Wonderful thoughts of the two strolling the park together flooded her head. _Ohh...how lovely._ "Yes, I'd love to go with you. Could you um, wait about 10 minutes? I need to dry off and get dressed." She felt a bit nervous and tightened her robe again.

"Yea of course. Take your time." He smiled warmly and began taking off his gloves.

"Ok. Make yourself at home. There's some books, pictures, and...the remotes right there." She left the room hoping he didn't notice the opening in the robe halfway revealing her chest.

She quickly opened her drawer looking for something comfortable to wear. Actually something that at least wasn't dirty. She hadn't even started doing her laundry yet. She ripped through her closet and pushing all her other fancy clothes to the side. It revealed one outfit that she thought she wouldn't have to wear if all her clothes were all done and washed, like they were suppose to. A short soft sweater like skirt, a velvet jacket with a matching scarf, long fuzzy tube socks and ankle boots sitting underneath it on the floor. She just hoped this wouldn't be too much...

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Garnet put on some light makeup, nothing too heavy and brushed her hair out. She couldn't find a clip or rubber band at the time, so she just wore it out straight. Rubbed some perfume on her neck and turned off all the lights in the house. When she came back into the living room, she saw Zidane chuckling at some pictures in her uncles photo album.

"Whatcha lookin' at?" She asked trying to sound more casual and walked over to him.

He grinned. "Ooooh, just some baby pictures of you." He pointed to the one he was looking at before she came in. Garnet didn't recognize it at first but then she remembered that was the photo taken, when she had tried to call the apple tree to get an apple for father, and fell out of the tree flat on her behind. She cried for hours when that happened. She didn't even know that her mother took pictures of that day. There was a long silence as she went into thought of her childhood again.

"Memories?" He asked.

"Yea... I remember that day like it was yesterday..." She put the memories aside for now and asked if he was ready to go.

He agreed and put the book back where he found it. "Oh before I forget." Garnet said walking back to the living room and tearing a scrap of paper from a notebook.

Uncle, I'm out with Zidane getting something to drink and taking a walk in the park. Be back at 4 or 7 at the latest!

-Garnet

"Writing me a love note?" Zidane joked.

"Heh, no. If I was, I would just tell you instead of going through a hand cramp over it." She smiled.

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It was pretty windy outside, leaves were blowing everywhere. It was that nice autumn breeze. Garnet looked up and could see the sun hiding in the clouds, and it brought a nice warmness to her legs. The two stopped at a red light waiting to cross the street when a giant truck splashed a big pile of leaves in Zidane's and Garnet 's face. Garnet felt the prickly ends of the leaves everywhere and all over her body. Zidane helped her pick out most the leaves in her hair and pulled out one just especially to give her. "Look, this one's shaped like a heart." He said and handed it to her. Garnet took it from him and put it in her pocket; a special small pocket where she wouldn't lose it.

When they walked into the small cafe there were a lot of people chatting in there loudly. Zidane led Garnet to the counter where they order. "Hi, can I have a medium coffee and..." he turned to Garnet and asked what she wanted. Garnet put her money away, thinking that she would pay for her own drink. "I'll have a medium hot chocolate, thanks." He nodded and said, "and a medium hot chocolate too." He pulled out a 10 dollar bill and handed it to the lady. There was no one in line, so their order was made in only3 short minutes. "Wanna go outside?" He asked noticing her discomfort look as she looked around at everyone else. Her face lit up softly, "Yes, that would be great."

Garnet didn't really know where anything in the big city was. All she knew was where her job was and where her uncle's house was. She had been meaning to take a tour and get to know the city a little more, but she didn't want to do it alone and her uncle was always to busy working to take her. The two trailed in the park until the came to the nearest bench and they sat down. Garnet slowly took a sip of her drink. It warmed her body so much that she shivered in pleasure. "Thanks again for the cocoa." She said taking another sip. "It was nothing." He smiled drinking his coffee. There were some kids running around playing hide n' seek in the park. Garnet watched them and it gave her an instant memory of when she played that same exact game with Vivi. This was a long time ago, before he was so sick her couldn't even walk normally. "This is a really nice park." She mumbled looked around at its many wonders. Zidane made a sound to let her know that she was replying but couldn't because he was drinking his coffee. He swallowed it and said, "Yea, it's pretty new actually. They built it just 2 years ago." Garnet nodded and continued sipping on her drink. "Hey Garnet." She turned her head to him, "Yes?"

"I feel kind of bad working at the same job and knowing so very little about you. All I know is that you're a very nice and beautiful girl. But anyone could tell you that."

Garnet felt a blush and drank her cocoa to clear her throat. "Well, there's not much to know." She said.

"Sure there is like...where did you come from?"

"I came from a small farm further down south of here. I lived there for...pretty much half of my life." A little girl screamed when she got caught by a boy who had found her hiding behind a tree. "Gotcha!"

"Oh really? What brings you here?" He asked sounded a bit more interested.

"My...little brother is very sick and...his medical bills and the house bills are just...out of control. We have no where near enough money, so I came to the city to make some and help my mother out." Talking about this subject always made Garnet feel as if she had a wrap hole inside her.

"Oh wow, that must be a lot of pressure on you. So, your family's life is in your hands?" There was a silence. Garnet didn't want to answer that, or maybe she knew the answer, she just didn't want it said out loud.

"That was...really stupid of me, I'm sorry." He said and looked away.

"No no, please don't say that. It's fine." Garnet thought instead of closing everyone out of her world and actually opening up to a...possible friend, maybe it would make her being here less lonely. "It's nice to finally talk to someone about all this," she blushed, "thanks for listening." She drank up the rest of her cocoa.

"Anytime..." He said scooting closer to her. Garnet smiled as she saw him trying to get closer to her. No guy has ever treated her like he does. He actually wanted to get to know her, the real her. He wasn't just after her virginity like all the other guys were. He was different. She could just feel it whenever she was with him.

"When are you going to be going back?" He asked, his voice sounding a bit worried.

"Back home?" He nodded. Wow, Garnet hadn't really thought about the actual day when she would be leaving to go back home. She knew how much more money she needed before she even thought about going back, but she didn't plan the month, hour, the day...

"Umm, maybe in a month or earlier...I'm not really sure. It matters how thing's are going with my mom. I have to call her tonight anyways." Garnet just said what was on her mind, she wouldn't bother giving a precise date and time. Then there would be a set time for her leave.

Zidane didn't reply in any way. He just flicked a brown and red colored leaf off the bench and stood up. "Ready to go?"

A warm smile formed on her face. He was standing in front of the sunset with leaves blowing all around him and he just looked so...beautiful and right. Garnet nodded and threw her cup away in the trash next to her.

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The walk back seemed to be longer than the walk there. Maybe because they talked much more on the way back. It was really nice...

"Well, we're here. Garnet said walking on her doorstep and unlocking the door.

Zidane put his hands in his pocket and walked closer behind her. "So um, I'll see you at work tomorrow then?"

"Yes, of course." She smiled.

Another silence. All that could be heard was the howling wind carrying all the leaves. The first date...was it suppose to end with a kiss? A hug? A handshake? A joke? Garnet knew so little as this being her first date. She was sure that this wasn't his first date. He probably had girls throwing themselves all over and he could do anything. They probably did anything that he wanted them to. He probably didn't even have to ask them to do anything, they just knew when and how to do it.

He took a step forward, slightly turning his head, and gently pressing his lips against her rosy soft cheek. An instant blush came over her face and Zidane chuckled at this, putting his hand on her cheek. "You are too cute."

He was so close, she could feel his breath come down on her nose. Oh how she wanted to kiss him too. How she wanted to feel his lips and warmth. How she longed to be covered in his love.

"Garnet, that you?" Cid called from the inside. "Close that door why dontcha? It's freezing out there." A loud grumbling shiver came from inside.

"Heh, I better go." She blushed and began taking a few steps backwards inside.

"Yea..." He seemed hypnotized by her beauty.

"I had a really nice time Zidane."

"Yea...me too."

"See you tomorrow." She said closing the door.

"Yea..."

She giggled when she shut the door and he still stood there for 5 extra seconds before he realized it was time to go.

"So, you went on a date with Zidane eh?" Cid was sitting in his favorite chair in the living room with his reading glasses on and had the newspaper in his hands.

"Not really a date but...we just hung out together." She said taking off her coat and scarf.

"Ya know, Zidane is a really nice boy. I'm glad you guys are good friends." He reopened the newspaper and began reading over it again.

"Yea, he really is. I'm going to call my mother and then I'll be off to bed." She said kissing her uncle's forehead.

"Alright dear, goodnight."

"Night!" She yelled from her room.

She jumped on the bed and reached for the phone besides it. She dialed her home's number and waited for the rings to be answered.

"Hello? "Her mother's tired voice answered.

"Aww, I hope I didn't wake you." Garnet said feeling bad.

"Garnet! No of course not. I was waiting on your call tonight. How are ya kido?" Her voice now being the complete opposite of tired.

"Fine, How's Vivi doing?"

She sighed. "Same, he asked about you today."

"He did?"

"Yes, he asked when were you coming back and how much longer would you be away."

Images of Vivi asking such cute questions filled Garnet's mind.

"Aww, I hope he's not too upset with me."

"No, don't worry about it. He knows why you're there and we're here. He just misses you that's all as do I."

"I miss you too mother and I was thinking about Vivi a lot today. I should be coming home...fairly soon. I still have much more money to save up."

"Oh I know dear, I know you're trying you're hardest and I'm so proud of you."

"Heh, thanks mother."

"Anytime dear. So what did you do today?" She asked changing the subject.

"Oh um, well, I did just get back from a date--um hanging out with this guy I work with."

"A guy?" Hr mother asked curiously.

"Yes, his name is Zidane. He's around my age and he's a very nice guy."

"Oh that's great to hear Garnet! I'm glad you found someone that truly cares about you and--"

"Wait mother, I don't think he truly cares about me. We're just...really good friends that's all."

"But you love him." She said trying to make Garnet admit it. She could hear it in her voice. She could tell that her daughter was finally in love.

"Mother. I am not." Garnet said in denial.

"Ok, sure. Whatever you say darling."

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A/N: stretches out arms Well there's another update for ya folks! I would have made it a bit touch longer, but I have a Halloween dance tonight that I gotta get ready for, so I kinda rushed it towards the end.

Thank you for your support and I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. I did. I thought it was a very sweet chapter of Zidane and Garnet getting to know each other more.

Trick or Treat, read my story and please...review!

Happy Halloween.

(Bwahahahahahahaha! gets hit with egg -.-;; ...)


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